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Rangers will lack All-Star starter again

Rangers will lack All-Star starter again

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By T.R. Sullivan
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MLB.com |

The Rangers will not have a player in the American League lineup for the second straight All-Star Game.

Outfielder Sammy Sosa remains the only Ranger who is still among the leaders at his position in the weekly voting update. Sosa, who hit his 600th home run last week, remains a distant 13th among American League outfielders, going into the final few days of voting.

No other Ranger is in the top five at his position. All teams must have at least one player on the All-Star team and the Rangers representative will come one of two ways.

They could be voted onto the team by the players or they could be selected as a reserve by Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

In addition to the fans voting, the players vote one player from each position and eight pitchers: five starters and three relievers. Michael Young has been selected to the All-Star team in each of the last three years by the players.

If the Rangers still don't have a representative, either through the fans or the players balloting, then Leyland will add one. Relievers Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka and Sosa are possibilities.

The Rangers had a player in the American League lineup every year from 1992-2005, and they've had two of the last three Most Valuable Player winners. Alfonso Soriano won it in 2004 and Young won it in 2005.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the Monster 2007 All-Star Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until Thursday at 10:59 p.m. CT.

Fans will again be given the opportunity to cast an All-Star vote immediately following the 2007 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show Presented by Chevrolet, which will be televised by Turner Sports on Sunday, July 1. Baseball fans around the world will be able to select the final player on each All-Star team via the Monster.com 2007 All-Star Final Vote.

Selecting the rosters isn't the end of the fun in 2007, either. Concluding the All-Star balloting process, fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the All-Star Game via the Monster.com 2007 All-Star Game MVP Vote at MLB.com.

The All-Star Game will take place in San Francisco at AT&T Park on July 10, and will be televised nationally by FOX Sports and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage and MLB Radio will have exclusive play-by-play coverage of the game on the Internet.

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.